A Korean firm has signed an agreement with the Jordanian government for the exploration of oil and gas in the Dead Sea area.

The Korea Global Energy Corporation (KGEC) said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Natural Resources Authority (NRA) last week for oil exploration activities in the eastern Dead Sea and Wadi Araba region in the Arabian kingdom.

”We have finally signed a MOU, which will lead to an official contract soon,” Park Cheong-sig, president of the KGEC, said. “We’ll soon launch an exploration under the agreement.”

Citing years-long research data, he said he was confident of confirming the presence of commercially viable oil deposits there.

Under the agreement, the Korean company has a three-month period to drill three exploration wells in order to determine the viability of drilling for oil and hold further talks with the Jordanian government to conclude a production sharing agreement.

The concession area, which covers 6,189 square kilometers, was previously held by American firm Trans Global. However, the original contract came to an end as the American company allegedly broke the terms of its public sharing agreement in 2007 by publicly announcing the discovery of oil in the area. The issue was taken to international arbitration.

Regarding the MOU, the Korean government denied its involvement in the deal between the KGEC and the Jordanian government.

“We didn’t know anything about the MOU until we checked news reports by Jordanian media,” said an official from the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy, which is in charge of development of overseas natural sources. “It’s not true that the company is backed by the Korean government as some media reported.”